All posts tagged ZTE

Few Chinese companies can claim the brand recognition that their Asian brethren – like Samsung in South Korea, or Sony in Japan – have attained. But U.S. shoppers will run into Chinese electronics makers more frequently in coming years, as those companies hawk their products with greater vigor in the West. Which means now is as good a time as any to get familiar with them.

Here’s a cheat sheet for some of the biggest Chinese companies at CES this week. Read More »

President Xi Jinping has come into power preaching reform, and though most aren’t yet convinced whether he’ll live up to his word, one sign of change was in China first-lady Peng Liyuan’s hand during the couple’s trip to Europe.

Last year, Ms. Peng got in trouble on Chinese social media for using a white iPhone during a diplomatic trip to Mexico shortly after Beijing launched a heated campaign protesting Apple Inc.’s warranty policy.

As evidenced by a widely noted photo of her watching a soccer match in Berlin while accompanying her husband on a trip to Europe, she has changed her mobile hardware. Read More »

Chinese telecom equipment supplier ZTE Corp. is no stranger to 4G technology, having worked with mobile operators to set up networks world-wide. Now it will get a crack at the promising home market, following China’s decision to issue licenses for fourth-generation mobile services.

The new 4G licenses will allow China’s state-owned telecom carriers to accelerate their network buildout, and in particular creates an opening for China Mobile Ltd., the world’s largest mobile carrier by subscribers, to begin offering Apple Inc.’s iPhone. Read More »

When Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Gear launch in early September created a hype around the potential market for smartwatches, it was certain that we would soon see cheaper versions from Chinese competitors.

Now, ZTE Corp., mainly known for its telecom equipment but also a smartphone maker, plans to launch a smartwatch in the second quarter of next year, according to Lu Qianhao, head of the Shenzhen-based company’s handset marketing strategy.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal Monday, Mr. Lu said that ZTE’s smartwatch will offer technological features that are similar to existing products such as the Galaxy Gear, but will sell for lower prices than the Galaxy Gear as it tries to appeal to China’s cost-conscious consumers. “We are focusing on the mainstream market,” he said. Read More »

The Arctic Council, a once-obscure regional forum that had little to show for itself, has nations queuing to participate as melting ice opens up more development of the region; Volkswagen AG said on Monday it would build a new plant in Changsha, in China’s Hunan province, as part of plans to expand its production capacity in the country to four million vehicles annually; the European Union’s trade chief will ask for backing this week from senior members of the bloc’s executive arm to start investigations into alleged unfair trade practices by Chinese network-equipment suppliers Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp., an EU official said, amid concern from European companies that such a probe could prompt a backlash against their interests in China.

Consumers don’t usually associate cutting-edge specs with Chinese smartphone brands, but new handsets hitting the market could spell a change in that mindset.

Smartphones from Chinese companies like ZTE Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co. may be cheaper than Apple Inc.’s iPhone or Samsung Electronics Co.’s high-end Galaxy models, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are less advanced.

ZTE’s newest offering is a “phablet”, or a smartphone with a screen almost as large as some tablets, called the Grand Memo. It comes with a 5.7-inch high-definition screen, Qualcomm Inc.’s newest Snapdragon 800 processor and a 13-megapixel camera. It will start selling in the second quarter. Read More »

The head of Yum Brands’ China operations stepped up to try to win back customers after allegations of quality oversights at Yum’s KFC restaurants sent sales in its largest market tumbling; Pfizer plans to forge more alliances in China as pharmaceutical companies combat shrinking margins in one of the world’s fastest-growing health-care markets; China’s ZTE expects its revenue from smartphones to rise 30% in 2013, as it seeks expansion abroad and tries to capitalize on rapid market growth at home.

Premier Wen Jiabao warned that the interests of rural residents must not be sacrificed in pursuing urbanization, in a sign of potential tension between China’s outgoing and incoming leaders; China’s ZTE Corp., which is struggling to eke out a profit, is set to shift its focus to its higher-margin enterprise business that provides government and company offices with information and telecommunications infrastructure.

China’s property market improved slightly in 2012, though some observers said this important driver of China’s growth still faces some obstacles; plans to build a large, permanent exposition center for Chinese-made goods near Cancún have triggered an outcry from Mexican industrialists who struggle to compete with Chinese manufacturing; Huawei forecast that 2012 profit would rise 33%, while rival Chinese telecom-equipment maker ZTE predicted a sizable loss. Read More »

Expert Insight

New rules on labor negotiations in southern China offer a potential solution to the country's growing problem with labor unrest while at the same time illustrating the difficulty the Communist Party faces in effectively addressing workers’ grievances.

For much of the last half-century, changing China through economic reform seemed to make far better sense than transforming the country through political revolution. Xi Jinping is trying to flip that on its head.

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